WOODVILLE, Alabama -- An Alabama company that manufactures storm
shelters staged a live demonstration this morning to show just how
much its products can take.

An above-ground shelter by Valley Storm Shelters was:

• rammed with a remote-controlled Grand Prix car,

• shot with high-powered weapons,

• blasted with winds from a jet engine

• and bombarded from above with two tons of lumber, one ton of bricks and a car.

The
tests were intended to simulate "various types of assaults which could
occur during an EF-5 tornado or intruder event," the company said.

The company, based near Scottsboro in Hollywood, is owned by Kateri Linahan and her husband, Tim Richardson.

Linahan
said the tests are meant to reassure some customers who feel
underground shelters are safer. "We wanted to throw everything we could at it," she said.

The shelter withstood every test. One of the only glitches occurred when the Grand Prix initially missed the shelter altogether, hit a camera mounted on a tripod, glanced off a stack of lumber and plowed through a fence.

On a second try, the car hit the shelter dead on, going about 30 mph.

On hand for the test were emergency management officials from across the Alabama, the Better Business Bureau, the Chamber officials and customers.

"I bought one last month, and they wanted to relieve me of all my skepticism," said Richard Picone of Jackson County. "It's far exceeded my expectations."

Valley Storm Shelter officials, who said they had not practiced the demonstration ahead of time, were thrilled with the results of the tests they said were designed to "destroy this shelter."

"If it handles this, it's going to handle anything," said Carlton Guyse, president of Supercell Shelters, which sells and installs Valley Storm Shelters' products. "I think you can feel comfortable putting your family in one of these."